Sweeter than Cockroach Clusters
by uninhibited
Summary: Stupid pranks and yet another lonely Valentine. Hermione really did think the day couldn't go any worse or more wrong.


**Cockroach Clusters**

**DISCLAIMER :**** All characters and places are property of JK Rowling.**

**A/N : **This was written in response to a request for a Draco/Hermione fic gift exchange. I decided to post it to see what you all thought of it – enjoy! =)

**            _Now we begin…_**

**__**

**__**

Hermione sighed as she headed up to the Gryffindor Common Room. Valentine's Day was approaching, and all around her she could only see happy couples holding hands, kissing in the halls, and looking at each other with loving eyes. She had never really paid attention to boys – there had been, after all, many more important things to think about rather than boys; school, for instance. But every Valentine's Day it was the same – Hermione became surrounded by couples, and that made her yearn for some attention from boys - in the romantic sense, that is.

Of course she had Ron and Harry as boy friends… But that was it; they were just boys that were her friends… At 16 years, Hermione had never had a boyfriend. Perhaps it was because she had never found someone that caught her interest, or, perhaps it was the fact that she had been too busy with her studies to worry about boys; or maybe, just maybe, it was because she wasn't appealing to boys… 

Hermione knew that she would never be some gorgeous girl that all the boys stared at and wanted to be with – she was far from that; but she didn't really mind. It was quite nice to be able to talk with boys without them staring at other places rather than looking her in the eye… Perhaps it was for the better – at least she could concentrate on her studies; with a boyfriend, she would be quite busy with him and would let some of her homework slide. There would be time for boyfriends later, after all. 

As Hermione entered the Common Room, she sighed once again. It was, as usual, filled with couples sitting together or with other couples – there just wasn't enough room for someone single. Her cinnamon brown eyes scanned the room looking for the ever familiar head of bright red hair, or the mop of messy black hair – they weren't in the Common Room, which meant that they were probably holding a Quidditch practice. Now that the two boys were on the team, they had even less time to spend with Hermione because of the demanding practices.

So, not knowing what else to do with herself, Hermione found herself an empty table in a corner of the Common Room and spread out her books so that she could do her homework – may as well do something productive with her time while she waited for dinner. As Hermione closed her Transfiguration text book; having finished the 2 foot essay on human transfiguration, she was smothered by her two best friends. 

"'Mione, what are you doing reading a book on such a nice day!" Ron asked, as if shocked that anyone in their right state of mind would spend the day indoors.

Hermione rolled her eyes good naturedly at Ron while packing away her things into her bag. 

"Come on, let's go down to dinner," Hermione said as soon as she was sure that she had everything.

Never one to skip a meal, Ron's face lit up and he grabbed Hermione's hand before pulling her out of the Common Room, with Harry by their side.

The Great Hall – like the rest of Hogwarts and its students – was decorated for Valentine's Day. The usual decorations of the colours of each house were now red, pink, and white. Streamers decorated the tops of the walls on the sides, and ever so often, little pink cherubs would explode, spraying confetti all over everyone – it really was quite annoying to be in the middle of a meal and have it sprinkled with heart shaped confetti. And to top it all of, there were little cupids flying around Hogwarts shooting their arrows at random students, and delivering Valentine's – Hermione had yet to receive one, or be shot by an arrow.

It was Dumbledore's was of creating inter-house unity; the cupids always shot one student from one house, and one student from another. It would make them gravitate towards each other and spend some time together – it was quite an effective method since it created several new friendships, but it had yet to be tested by a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Hermione didn't fully understand what made the people act like that after being hit by an arrow – perhaps it was simply magic, or perhaps, it was psychology and they thought that because and arrow hit them, they would "fall in love" and would stick together for a bit. Or maybe, just maybe, it was the fact that it was Valentine's Day, and everyone was in the mood to act happy and in love.

After dinner, Hermione headed up to Gryffindor Tower with Ron and Harry – who were too busy involved in a conversation about Quidditch to notice that Hermione wasn't being herself. Unbeknownst to everyone else, someone else had noticed her mood, and that person took note of it, and decided to use it to their advantage. 

"Potty, Weasel." Malfoy sneered at the trio with a malicious glint in his eyes. "And we can't forget the mudblood, can we?" he added, looking straight into her eyes with a look of superiority. 

"Sod of, Malfoy," Ron snapped. 

"And why would I listen to you, Weasel? Why would I, a pure-blooded, rich, _Malfoy__,_" Draco retorted, glaring at Ron. "Listen to someone as pathetic and poor as _you?_"

Ron's ears started to turn their trademark red and Ron glared right back at Draco, too angry to speak.

"Honestly, Malfoy," Hermione interjected – everyone turned to face her; she rarely said much during these ordeals. "Just because you're too stupid to think of any new ways to taunt us, doesn't mean you have to keep on using the same old lines – they don't work, Malfoy," Hermione said, as she glared at him.

Draco's eyes narrowed, "Shut your mouth you filthy mudblood," he snapped.

Hermione carefully raised an eyebrow before tauntingly saying, "Make me."

The two stood there glaring daggers at each other before Draco retorted, "I would, but I'd rather not touch someone as dirty as you."

At this, Hermione leaned in close to him; close enough so that they could feel each others' breaths before defiantly saying, "If you honestly think that someone as pathetic as you calling me a mudblood hurts me, then you've got another thing coming. Because you know what, Malfoy, there's nothing better about pure-bloods then there is about being muggleborn." 

Draco laughed in her face. "Oh please, you pathetic little mudblood. If you think that you're my equal, then you've got another thing coming. You're the scum of the earth and you don't even deserve to live," he spat.

By now, a small crowd had gather around Draco and Hermione and were watching to see her reaction to this – Ron and Harry were positively fuming, and looked as if they were about to burst. 

But Hermione wasn't fazed. "Really?" she asked nonchalantly. "Then tell me, Malfoy, what makes you pure-bloods better than everyone else?"

Draco stared at her as he racked his brain, trying to think of some clever come-back; but he found none. So he stood there, silently, with an angry look in his eye. 

"That's what I thought," Hermione whispered before turning on her heel to go the long way to the Common Room.

But before she got far, she felt an ice cold hand on her wrist, holding her back. She turned around to see who it was, and was met with the cold, steel-grey eyes of Draco Malfoy. Hermione shivered as she looked into his eyes – they looked so cold and lost… It was as if there was someone in there trying to break free from a world of unimaginable evil and cruelty; someone that put on a façade to cover up their true selves…

As Hermione was getting lost in his eyes, Draco gripped her wrist tighter, and the moment that Hermione stopped paying attention completely, he pushed her to the side – sending her falling to the floor with her bag breaking, and books flying in all directions. As she got down to her knees to gather her books, she hear Malfoy snort with amusement. 

"What, Malfoy," she said, not bothering to look up.

"You're supposed to be the smartest witch in our year, and yet you resort to doing everything by hand. I suppose it's because of you're a mudblood…"

Hermione jumped to her knees before he got a chance to finish his sentence.

"Look, _Malfoy__,_ I've proven time and time again that I'm smarter than you. And this just happens to be another example. Didn't you hear what Dumbledore said at breakfast today? Weren't you wondering why all of our lessons were theoretical? Obviously you're not as intelligent as you think; or else you'd know that there's a magical blackout today," Hermione sneered.

For a moment, Draco looked confused, but soon managed to cover it up. "I have better things to do than listen to some old man every morning. Besides, you always pick up your books by hand."

Hermione looked shocked for a moment, but, like Malfoy, she was an expert of covering up her emotions. "Oh, and how would you know, Malfoy? Do you watch me all of the time?"

"Hah! In your dreams you pathetic little mudblood! Why would I willingly spend time watching such filth as you? I have better things to do than pay attention to someone as undeserving as you."

"You know, Malfoy, it's sad how pathetic you a-"

"_I'm_ pathetic? Look at you, you dirty-blood-"

But before he could finish his insult, Hermione covered his mouth with her hand and glared at him before continuing what she had been saying. "You go around the school flanked by your two cronies thinking you're all that. You need someone around you at all times to protect you since you're too pathetic to protect yourself. You think you're so smart and think that you can do everything – and yet you're never top of the class. You think that you're Merlin's gift to women and go around thinking that all girls find you attractive and want you. You think that just because you're a pureblood you're better than everyone else. And that just because you're rich by society's standards you're perfect. Well you know what, Malfoy, you're not! You're a pathetic, scared little fool. You can't do anything yourself and you don't deserve anything that you have! You're nothing but a lonely little boy that's scared of everything out there, and that has to hide behind something at all times. Inside, you're nothing but a pathetic wizard that has nothing – NOTHING! You aren't rich, Malfoy. In fact, you're the poorest person that I've ever had the misfortune of mee-"

"Now see here mudblood! For one thing, I have more gold than anyone you know combined. And…"

"Hah! Money is nothing, Malfoy! Money doesn't make you rich! What makes a person rich is the company that they surround themselves with. What makes a person rich is how good of a heart they have. What makes a person rich is what kind of person they are – not how much gold they have in their bank account."

"Shut up, you stupid mudblo-"

"You know what, Malfoy, I pity you. You will never truly live. All you're life, you're going to hide behind things, and you're always going to believe that you're better than everyone else because you have money and because you're a pureblood. There's a lot more to life than just that, Malfoy. And I pity you, I really, and truly pity you," Hermione finished, shooting him a look mixed with anger, hate, and pity.

The two stood there in silence staring into each others' eyes, each trying to break the other down. But they weren't ones to show emotion, so their expressions remained stony, and not a word was spoken – the tension was so palpable that you could almost cut a knife through it. 

Draco narrowed his eyes at Hermione, and without a word, turned on his heel and left towards the dungeons where the Slytherin Common Rooms. Hermione stood there in the same spot for a few moments until she could no longer see Malfoy's back in the distance.

She stood there for a few moments more before screaming bloody murder. As she got down to the floor to gather up her things, she thought about Malfoy. Why did he have to be such a pathetic, annoying little prat all of the time? He wasn't any better than her… But why did he have such an impact on her? Why did his mere existence bother her so much? But most of all, why did she think of him so much?

Hermione constantly found her thoughts drifting off to that blond-haired Slytherin that she had grown to hate. Perhaps hate wasn't the word… She didn't hate him. But she didn't know what else to call it… The feelings that she had were indescribable. On the one hand, she despised him for all of the pain that he had caused her and her friends. But on the other, she held such a respect for him for all that he had gone through and for the fact that he always stood his ground – even though she didn't believe in what he said. There was an aura around that boy that demanded respect. 

Hermione got up with her book bag and sighed – he was such a complex person to understand – almost like those complicated jigsaw puzzles that she had done when she was younger. Only he was human, which made him all the more difficult to understand. 

It seemed as if mere seconds later Hermione had reached the Fat Lady's portrait and entered the Common Room – only to be bombarded by Ron and Harry.

"What happened, Mione?"

"Where were you?"

"What took so long?"

"Are you alright?"

"Honestly!" Hermione replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm fine, I can take care of myself," she grumbled.

But her two best friends persisted. 

"You were gone for so long," Harry said worriedly.

"Was it Malfoy? Did he do something to you? What did he do?" Ron exclaimed, not far from the truth.

"Nothing happened," Hermione mumbled. "I'm fine, really. I just stopped by at the Library…"

"You're lying," Harry said, almost automatically.

"What are you talking about, Harry?" Hermione asked. How could he know?

"You're such a bad liar Hermione. Something happened… We're your best friends, don't you trust us enough to tell us?" Harry asked, sounding slightly hurt.

"Really Harry, nothing's the matter," Hermione answered, trying her best to smile.

Ron bought it easily enough, but Harry held her gaze for a few moments before sighing and looking away.

"Well, I'd better get to bed now. It's getting quite late and we have classes tomorrow," Hermione said, trying to get herself out of the situation.

"Um, Hermione, tomorrow's Saturday…" Ron said.

"Right, I knew that…" Hermione said, blushing.

Ron raised an eyebrow, but quickly shrugged it off. "Right, so, Hogsmeade tomorrow! We'll have to stop by at Zonko's…"

Ron and Harry started talking about what places they were going to visit when they visited Hogsmeade the next day while Hermione tuned them out with her thoughts about recent events. It had felt so nice to tell Malfoy all of those things… For so many years she had wanted to set him straight and just tell him what she had just told him… It felt like a big weight had been lifted off her chest – it was nice. 

Hermione smiled to herself, unaware that Ron and Harry had noticed.

"Why are you smiling," Ron asked, confused.

"Can't a person smile," Hermione snapped, returning to reality.

"I'm not saying that you can't, it's just that just a moment ago…" Ron trailed off, noticing that Harry was trying to subtly shake his head as if to signal him to stop. "Never mind," he mumbled.

Hermione nodded before heading to the girls' staircase to go up to the dorms. As she left, Ron and Harry looked at each other – something was up with Hermione that she wouldn't tell them.

*******

The next morning, Hermione sighed as she rolled out of bed. All of the girls in her dorm were laying half-asleep in their beds – that meant that it was a Hogsmeade trip. Ordinarily, they would be sleeping like logs on the weekend; but, if it was a Hogsmeade weekend, then they would be struggling to get up early enough to get to the village, but not so early that they were tired. Taking this to her advantage, Hermione headed into the bathroom to get ready for the day ahead.

As Hermione took her shower, her mind drifted to various topics ranging from school work and books, to boys and dates. Hermione found that she did her best thinking while in the shower. Perhaps it was the rhythmic fall of the droplets of water, or perhaps it was the water cleaning away everything – not only dirt; whatever it was, it made it a wonderful thinking place. 

But this morning, it was different. Hermione didn't find herself thinking of the usual things she did – her thoughts seemed to drift in the direction of a certain blond-haired Slytherin. Before, however, she could get any serious thinking done on this topic, she heard the voices of her roommates, and finished as fast as she could before turning off the shower, grabbing her towel, and heading into her dorm to change. 

By the time Hermione was on her way downstairs to the Common Room, the rest of her roommates were just getting out of the bathroom. It had always been that way – not just with showers and roommates. Hermione had always been the lone lamb – while everyone else had been in a large group surrounded by people, Hermione would be alone; unless she had a stroke of luck and was with someone else. She didn't mind that much anymore, but, it would still be nice to be accepted by the people around her as someone to spend time with – not as a boring know-it-all bookworm.

Hermione found Harry and Ron waiting for her on one of the sofas in the Common Room. They seemed to be in a deep conversation about something, and kept glancing around them to make sure that no one could hear them. 

Hermione frowned. Knowing them, they were up to something. As she reached the two boys, she cleared her throat, and was welcomed with shocked looks, followed by nervous smiles. 

"Morning, Mione," Ron said, sounding a tad nervous.

Harry gave her a small smile and nodded hello.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "What are you two planning?"

"U-us?" Ron asked, faltering just a bit. "Why would _we_ plan anything?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I'm not stupid. Besides, one would have to be completely ignorant to not be able to see you two conspiring over here; what with those nervous looks you kept giving and the huddles mass you were in."

"Honest Mione, it's nothing," Harry interjected.

"That's right. We wouldn't do something wrong," Ron added.

Once again, Hermione rolled her eyes. "Let's go down to breakfast."

To the boys, it looked as if Hermione had forgotten that they had been plotting, but, before they could celebrate, "You do know I'll find out," Hermione added, smirking.

Before the two boys could respond, Hermione turned around and went out the Portrait Hole for breakfast, with the two boys on her heels.

Hermione had thought that the decorations up until then had been terrible, but, at the moment that she walked into the Great Hall, she would have given anything to trade them back. The walls were covered in tapestries of pinks and reds, and the house table tablecloths were white with little red and pink hearts on them. The cherubs from the days before were still hovering over everyone, and were still exploding with heart shaped red, pink and white confetti. There was a gigantic banner over the Staff Table that read 'Happy Valentine's Day,' and to top it all off, all of the food seemed to be decorated as well. 

Hermione had never particularly liked Valentine's Day – however, that might have been since she had never had anyone special to spend it with. But all of the cards and flowers seemed so trivial to her. There shouldn't have to be an annual holiday for everyone to celebrate their relationships and treat their other halves with love and respect – it should be like that all of the time; minus the annoying decorations, that is.

Hermione sighed as she sat down amidst the many already awake couples cooing over each other and exchanging gifts and kisses. She was soon joined by Ron and Harry sitting down on either side of her, mouths still open in shock on the girly decorations of the Great Hall. Ron suspiciously eyed all of the platters of food before carefully reaching for one, fearing that if he ate a heart-shaped pancake something bad would happen.

"Hurry up and eat, Mione," Harry muttered.

Ron nodded in agreement. "Let's get out of here as soon as we can," he added. 

Hermione had never seen the two boys eat as fast as they were now. In mere minutes, their plates were empty, and the two were standing up, attempting to drag her out of her seat and out of the Great Hall. Knowing that she could always eat if she got hungry in Hogsmeade, Hermione let them drag her out of the Great Hall and towards the fairly long queue of people waiting to visit Hogsmeade.

Soon enough, their turn came, and Filch checked their names before glaring at them, and sending them off into a carriage. The ride to Hogsmeade was silent as Hermione looked out one of the windows. She did, however, see Ron and Harry huddled close together and whispering in hushed voices through a reflection in the window. Hermione sighed; who know what those two were planning?

The carriage ride was not very long, and as soon as they arrived in Hogsmeade, Ron and Harry made to bolt in one direction before Hermione held them back.

"Hold on one moment," she said. "Where are you two going?"

"Uh… Nowhere!" Ron squeaked.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. She knew that they were lying, but she wasn't in the mood to get the truth out of them. "Fine, but I'll meet you at that café over there," she said, pointing to the café at the corner of the street. 

"Wait, why not the Three Broomsticks," Harry asked, confused.

"It's going to be filled to with couples – there won't be much room left over for us, and Madam Rosmerta will be busy with those customers," Hermione replied.

"Right, so, is two hours OK?"

Hermione nodded. As soon as she did, Ron and Harry turned and dashed off, leaving Hermione in Hogsmeade alone. She sighed as she headed to the direction of one of her favourite bookstores – there were still two hours to kill.

A half hour later, Hermione emerged from the bookstore carrying a bag with a book about Animagi, along with a much smaller romance novel. Hermione had always thought those novels to be trashy stories about romance, but, upon reading one of Lavender's, she found that they weren't that bad – they let her escape to a world where she was accepted, and to a world where she could find someone that loved her.

Hermione wandered around the village for another half hour, going in and out of shops, before decided to head into the café and have a bite to eat and to warm up – it was quite a chilly morning.

The café was virtually empty; there were only several students in it, and most of them were part of a couple. Taking a seat by a window, Hermione put down her bag and let her thoughts drift away while she waited for someone to come and take her order – she was in no rush.

She didn't have to wait too long, because soon enough, a girl of about 20 or so came up to her table and asked Hermione what she wanted. Not much later, the girl returned with Hermione's hot chocolate as well as a bowl of cinnamon hearts. Cinnamon hearts were one of the only things that Hermione enjoyed about Valentine's Day. They tasted lovely, and were quite simple and one of the few things that wasn't huge and extravagant about Valentine's Day.

The girl also came back with a small bowl of strawberries for Hermione a bit later, telling her that they had already been paid for. Not thinking, Hermione reached for a strawberry and took a bite of it – only to find something crunchy on the inside. Thinking that it was nothing, Hermione finished off the strawberry, and reached for another; only to find the same crunchy part in the middle of that one. 

Hermione frowned. Something was wrong with the strawberries. She looked down at the bowl in front of her and examined them – there didn't appear to be anything wrong with them from the outside, but, on the inside, there was something crunchy. Hermione thought for a moment, took another strawberry, and nibbled on it until she reached the middle. Then, she started on the other side until she hit something crunchy. And so, she nibbled around the rest of the strawberry until she had whatever the cause of the crunch was in her hand. Nibbling on the last remnants of strawberry around it, Hermione found something brown – something dark brown. It wasn't very big, but it was quite hard. Hermione inspected it closer, and found it to be some sort of creature – it had what was left of two antennae, and seemed to be twitching.

Hermione paled. Cockroach clusters. She had eaten cockroach clusters. Except, they were covered in strawberries rather than chocolate. The strange thing was that they didn't taste as bad as she had thought cockroach clusters would. 

Hermione stopped the girl who had served her as she was passing by her table with dishes in her hands. 

"Excuse me miss, but, do you know who sent these strawberries?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, it was two boys - one redhead and one with black hair. They were grinning madly as they came in about an hour ago… They told me to give them to a girl that fit your description when she came in. Why, was there something wrong with them," she asked, getting concerned.

"Oh, no," Hermione said, reassuring her. "I was just wondering…"

The girl nodded before leaving Hermione to her hot chocolate and thoughts.

As Hermione looked around the café, she spotted a head of white-blond hair getting up from its table and heading in her direction.

"Mudblood," it sneered.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Malfoy," she said, not in the mood to insult Draco.

"All alone? On Valentine's Day? What, even Potty and Weasel abandoned you," he replied, grinning maliciously.

Hermione sighed. "Sod off, Malfoy."

Draco snorted before sitting down across from Hermione. "You can't rid of me that easily, Granger. I don't take orders from anyone – much less a mudblood."

Herminoe muttered something incoherent under her breath before taking a sip of her hot chocolate and checking her watch – it was only 10:36 – it was still 20 minutes until the boys came back, and knowing them, they would be late. Subconsciously, Hermione sighed at the thought of being alone – just as Draco had said.   
  


"What," snapped Draco. "You should be honoured that you're in the presence of a pureblood."

But Hermione didn't want to go against Malfoy on this particular day – she was all alone on another Valentine's, and she didn't need him to remind her of her other faults. "Just leave me alone, Malfoy," she said, with a dead sort of tone to her voice.

Draco frowned. He liked arguing with Hermione. She was the one person that was intelligent enough to argue like a sane person and she always had a certain life to her that sprung to life when she argued. But today, that had been replaced with something else. This was his entertainment – and he wanted to be entertained. And Malfoy's always got what they wanted.

"What, don't want me to see you all alone? Honestly, mudblood, I'm used to seeing you by yourself with no friends," he scoffed, hoping that it would push her buttons enough to make her argue back. But the reaction that he got wasn't what he wanted. 

Hermione's eyes started to water as she struggled not to cry. "I told you to leave me alone, Malfoy," she said, trying to sound as normal as possible.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "And why would I do a thing like that? You should be happy that I'm here so that you don't look as pathetic as you normally you."

"I said, leave me alone," she said softly, looking down at her hot chocolate.

Draco frowned once more, but decided to give it another try. "Shy, are we? Seems that _someone_ likes me," he said smirking. "I'm sorry, but, I don't associate myself with mudbloods in that way. But I heard that Longbottom was looking for someone. Or you can always try to get lucky with Weasel and live in a dilapidated house with hundreds of children," he added.

Hermione's eyes began to cloud with tears, and her face started to turn red, but she wouldn't let him have the last word. Not bothering to hide her eyes anymore, and leaned in towards Draco so close that their breaths mingled. 

"If I were you, Malfoy, I wouldn't try and push me to the edge – especially not today," Hermione hissed dangerously.

Draco gave a mocking laugh. "I told you that I don't take orders from anybody you pathetic mudblood. I don't see how today is any different from any day anyways – you still have books with you, you're still a mudblood, and you're still as pathetic and alone as you always are."

"Shut it, Malfoy," Hermione said in an undertone, still having not moved herself from her previous position.

Draco leaned in, and whispered in her ear, "Make me."

His words sent a shiver up Hermione's spine, and as she looked into his eyes, she saw his lips curve into a feral grin. She narrowed her eyes, and responded, "Don't push me."

Draco raised an eyebrow and leaned his face closer – their faces were practically touching, and they could hear the other breathing. 

Suddenly, Hermione had a stroke of genius. Her eyes glinted with a sudden sparkle, and her lips twisted into a smirk. Then, before Draco realized it, she grabbed him by the head and pushed her lips to his, sealing the gap between the two of them with a sudden kiss. She gave the kiss her all – all of her anger, hate, sadness, fear, passion, and love were put into that kiss. And as Hermione let go of Draco and ended the kiss, she gave Draco a smirk as his mouth slowly formed into an 'O.'

Before Draco even had a chance to register what had happened, Hermione leaned in to his ear and whispered, "Good bye, Draco," and got up from the table and left, smirking with satisfaction of leaving Malfoy speechless for once.

But before she knew it, she felt a strong hand gripping her wrist. She turned to see who it was, only to find that it was Draco, smirking right back at her. Not to be outdone, he wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close to him, and then kissed her right back with even more feeling that she could have put in. As abruptly as he had started it, he ended it, and let go of her, before walking past her and giving her a smirk. Just as she thought that he was gone, she felt hot breath on her neck, and then heard his voice in her ear – "Good bye, _Hermione._"


End file.
